George W. Lundeen

b. 1948

"I am attracted to the human figure, and it will be enough to keep me busy for the rest of my life," explains George Lundeen, who has traveled the world gathering life-clips of people which he skillfully transforms into bronze sculpture. Although he refers to himself as a Western artist, Lundeen presents realistic images that transcend time, genre, and culture. There is a quiet beauty in a George Lundeen piece that draws a viewer in while his artfully created figures and expert design truly capture human emotion. "Hands and faces are the hardest for me," he says; "done well they can communicate so much."

Born and raised in Holdrege, Nebraska, Lundeen went to college at Hastings and then to the University of Illinois, where he studied with Frank Gallo, a realist sculptor. He then spent a year on a Fulbright-Hays Scholarship in Florence, Italy, where the works of Old Masters inspired his ambition to sculpt for a living. Today Lundeen lives and works in Loveland, Colorado, presiding over a family of sculptors, including his wife, a younger brother, a sister-in-law and a cousin.